On the wings of dragons
by Cyran the Fox
Summary: A story of a young boy from china, heir to a legacy he must reclaim. He travels throughout the world to regain his clan title.
1. Broken Homeland

_Okay so this is my first ever fan fic, and I hope guys read and maybe send me some tips and suggestions. I have only played the first bloody roar and so I thought it would be a good Idea to base it on an independent character instead of the BR ones. So enjoy. _

Chapter 1: Broken Homeland

"Pull the reins harder Fai" came the voice from the stable.

Fai turned to acknowledge, but thought better of it as the horse underneath him took a particularly frightening leap. Fai clutched the neck of the animal and wished with all his might that his fathers riding lessons would end early today. He was wishing this so hard in fact that he was unprepared for the sudden turn the horse took to dodge an oncoming tree. He looked up just in time to see the ground rushing up to meet him.

"No, No, No!," Fai's father yelled stalking out into the yard "Fai Xenta, how many times do I have to tell you always keep your eyes forward"

"Sorry dad" Fai responded picking himself off the ground.

"It's okay son, but how will you ever lead the villagers if you can't ride a horse?"

"Well maybe I could just learn to run very fast"

"Ha Ha" Fai's dad clutched his stomach at this "The son of the clan leader going to council on foot" he now looked at his son in earnest "Would you seriously bring such shame upon the mighty _Draconis _Clan."

"No sir." Fai answered looking at the dust still on his shoes.

"Well then," Fai's dad said picking him up "You will just have to try harder tomorrow"

"Okay" Fai responded with a deep sigh.

Even though Fai was fourteen years old, it amazed him that his father could toss him about with one hand. Even as they walked together back towards the village of Dalian where they lived, his father picked him up and set him on his shoulder.

"Come son, the fishermen should be getting back soon and we can help them stretch their nets to dry."

"Oh boy dad!" Fai scrambled down from his dad's shoulder and took off in front of him. If their was anything that could help him forget about horses it was looking at all the interesting things the anglers had brought in.

Fai's father watched his son run towards the village with a smile on his face. The wind played through the stable yard bringing him the smells of horses and freshly churned soil.

"My child." he said to no one in particular "You have yet to learn the real destiny that awaits you."

Turning to gather the saddle off the horse, he caught a whiff of another scent.

"Yes Shoji, what is it?" He asked without turning.

"Sorry to disturb you my lord Liau, but a band of warriors have been spotted walking towards the main gate." The scout said stepping from the sparse vegetation that grew around the stable.

"What kind of warriors, it is too early for the great council"

"No sir I fear that in response of our refusal to fund their war, the Thanos clan is coming to make us reconsider"

"Listen Shoji!" Liau retorted anger rising in his voice "Clan _Draconis _shall never back something as evil as slaughtering villagers."

"SIR!" Shoji snapped to attention "What do you suggest then."

"We must prepare." Liau said tossing aside the saddle. "Evacuate the villagers to the ships and prepare for battle"

"Yes Sir." Shoji responded melting back into the foliage.

Fai was at the beach trying to decide whether the pretty shell on the beach was worth fighting the crab within it to get it, when he heard the first alarm bells. The bells, which hung in the towers that flanked the main gate, had only been rung once before in his lifetime. A fire had spread out of control once long ago, and had threatened to destroy everything. Amazingly enough it merely burnt through two houses before it mysteriously stopped. Even stranger, Fai had sworn he had seen a serpentine shape moving within the smoke. However when he mentioned this to his father he merely laughed and said it was the great dragon that protected their village. Fai wondered if he would get to catch a glimpse of this great dragon again now that the bells once again tolled.

"Hurry to the ships!" cried a guard as he ran through the streets "Everyone get to the ships."

At this, many of the people began to gather whatever they could and run for the docks. Most of the time the docks where filled with traders and fishermen, but as the cold season was setting in, only a handful of traders lay tied to their moorings. One ship that stood out however was a large steamship that dwarfed most of the sailing ships around it. The traders who owned this ship had been friends of the village for many years and spent most of their time tied to the village's docks.

Although Fai had lived in Dalian all his life, he could not remember ever talking to the sailors who lived aboard the steamship _crackshell_ as she was called. However, he could not resist the surge of people who pushed him towards the steamer now. The multitude of villagers pushed him right out onto the docks and straight up the gangplank, where armed sailors helped escort the people to the below decks.

Glancing about, trying to find someone he recognizes, Fai realized that only elderly men, children, and women where aboard. The men had lined up on the docks armed with spears, swords, and even a couple of rifles. They were all saying good bye to the ones on the boat. Seeing that he was with the wrong crowd, Fai began to press towards the gangplank. As he did so though, a huge hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Alas no lad, yer father gave me strict instructions to keep ya with me." Fai turned towards the bearded face of the captain of the _crackshell_.

"What are you doing the men are on the beach" Fai protested, prying vainly against the iron grip of the captain.

"And so they are, but you are not gonna be there with 'em"

Therefore, all Fai could do was look on as the men lined up in the courtyard facing the main gate. To his surprise, he could see his father standing on the walls of the gate.

Liau stood proudly atop the gate walls and surveyed the troop marching towards him. He heard the sounds of the steamship starting up and turned around for one last glimpse towards his son.

"Keep him safe." Liau nodded towards the _crackshell_.

"Aren't you even going to have the decency to look upon your killer Liau Xenta," said a booming voice from below.

Liau whipped around and looked down on the leader of the troops, a tall blonde man that had no place in the foothills of China.

"Belvarius, long has my clan heard of your madness, so you are behind the peasant murders."

"Please, please, you give them too much credit" Belvarius smiled "Murder suggests that they actually fought back, massacre is a much proper term."

"Well whatever you call it, it shall be avenged today." Liau said, his eyes beginning to take on a burning red glow.

"Strong words from a village with only one zoetrope" Belvarius turned towards one of his troops. "Xofar, take care of him"

The cloaked swordsman to his right suddenly burst out of his cloak in a mass of oily wings and jagged spikes. Liau watched as the imp raced towards him at breakneck speed. Opening his mouth a gout of flame arced towards the now surprised imp. Unable to change its suicide course the imp flew straight into the six-foot pillar of flame that launched from Liau. Bones cracking and skin melting the imp was ash before it had covered half the distance to Liau. Wiping himself off Liau once again locked his gaze on Belvarius.

"I'm afraid it's going to take more than that to kill me." Liau growled as his face began to elongate and scales formed beneath his skin. "Now let's see how you fare against someone who actually fights back!"

Arching his head towards the sky, Liau screamed a piercing roar that shook the foundations of the gate he stood on. Arms stretched and hardened, Legs thickened, hands and feet grew talons of steel, and from his back two wings erupted from beneath his skin.

The troop took several steps back and gazed at the full form dragon that perched on the gate of Dalian.

Fai swelled with pride when his father had killed the monster, but he now stood awestruck at the great hulking dragon his father had become. The villagers around him cowered, hiding their faces, all except for the captain who kept a strong grip on Fai. The deck shifted under him and as he looked wildly about, he realized that the ship was leaving the harbor.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Fai asked the captain. "Who's going to evacuate father and the men?"

"Hush now lad" the grip tightened "Your old man can care for himself; he'll tell us when everything is safe"

Nodding, Fai turned back towards the now retreating village.

Liau let out another blast of dragon's fire aimed directly at Belvarius. The other cloaked figures scattered or were incinerated. When he felt he had finished the job he let the flames die. There where a troop of twenty or more men once stood, now was a melted crater. The dirt had reached such extreme temperatures that it had turned to glass towards the middle of the crater. Liau jumped up with surprise. There, in the middle of the crater, standing unharmed on the melted glass stood Belvarius.

"That was quiet impressive," Belvarius said, dusting off his cloak "But the time for heroics is over, make your peace."

At this Belvarius's body began to contort, and Liau watched as one by one the quivering form before broke every bone in its own body. Amidst the screams of agony, Belvarius's fingers snapped and grew into foot long talons. His legs broke and splintered, before reversing themselves into animalistic hindquarters. The worse part of the transformation was Belvarius's face. Instead of the long sleek snout of a dragon, his face split in half and reformed into the grinning visage of a horned skull. The lower jaw snapped off and grew into a set of crushing jaws. The top of Belvarius's skull exploded in two places where horns grew and pointed forward. When the transformation finally completed itself, a Demon stood before the gates of Dalian.

"BEHOLD!" Belvarius roared. "THE ULTIMATE POWER."

Letting out a cross between a roar and a scream, Belvarius launched himself off the ground straight at Liau. The speed in which he reached the top of the gate surprised Liau, and he was caught off guard. As the two of them crashed backwards off the gates the men of the village scattered.

Fai stood gripping the railing as he watched his father and some other beast crash into the courtyard of his village. The battle was fierce, gouts of flame where countered with a weird green energy. The last thing Fai witnessed before the ship carried him out of sight of land was an uppercut by his father had knocked the monster into the docks.

_Well what did you people think, please give me some helpful criticisms; sorry the action took so long to come out, it will be better as the story progresses. Please Respond_


	2. Ambush!

"_Hello again everyone, I can't figure out the chapter thing yet so I hope I get it right this time. The first chapter was Broken Homeland and the second one is Ambush!" _

Chapter 2: Ambush!

The steamship _crackshell_ puffed along, following the southern coast of China. It had now been two days since the villagers left the chaos at Dalian. The sailors were very kind, sharing food and singing songs, but Fai could feel the overbearing sadness in the air.

"What ya thinking lad" came the gruff voice of the captain.

"Nothing Captain Daniels sir," Fai replied staring at a group of huts the ship was passing.

"Now you can't lie to one such as me," Captain Daniels chuckled to him "I've been around enough lads to know something weighing on ya. Why don't ya tell ole Roy Daniels what's on yer mind."

Fai studied Captain Roy closely. "Well I just wondered when you were planning on letting us out of here."

"Ahh don't be letting that worry ya." He said with a wink "While the others may get off at different villages you have the whole trip with me."

"What?" Fai asked whipping around "Everyone can leave, except me?"

"Yep that's right, oh! That reminds me." Roy said as he pulled a sealed letter from inside his jacket. "Yer dad gave me this along time ago, and told me I'd know when ta give it to ya."

Fai cautiously took the letter the grizzled captain handed him and broke the wax. The seal was a green dragon wrapped around a tiny village. The paper was faded and mildewed but the words were still clear.

_"Dear Fai,_

_Though we had a wonderful relationship, i feel that I haven't been fully truthful _

_to you. If you have received this letter it means that the worst has happened._

_The Thanos clan, from which we have opposed for so many years, has come to finish_

_the job. My son, do you remember when you saw the dragon as a child?_

_That was your grandfather, the protector of the village before me._

_You see son, me and you are not like the rest of the villagers. We_

_have inherited a legacy that makes us different. Me, you, and _

_grandfather are all zoatropes, or have the ability to change into_

_animal form. Thus the Gods have gifted us with the power_

_to protect our village. This is the legacy that I have passed unto_

_you. Though you are now alone and confused, trust in the captain_

_for he is sympathetic in our plight. I leave the safety of the village in _

_your hands son. In time you must return there and reclaim what is ours._

_Your father,_

_Liau Xenta"_

Tears welling in his eyes Fai placed the note before him on the deck. He watched as a few of his tears soaked into the paper. Roy walked over and placed his hand on Fai's shoulder.

"There there lad, your left me in charge, and I wont let anything happen to ya."

"But what am I going to do to get our village back?" Fai's eyes pleaded with the captain "I don't know how to change into an animal or fight monsters."

"Well lad that's what..." Before the captain could finish a dark laughter spread through the air.

"Look at this" came the voice "The once brave people of Dalian village, scattering now that their defender is gone."

The voice drew their sight to a small cliff overlooking the ship. Standing atop it was a smiling man with long blonde hair. His body seemed to move and shift, and as Fai watched, the man's arm broke itself and then rehealed. Someone on the ship cried out and the blonde man laughed again.

"Unfortunately I feel tired, so I'm going to let some friends of mine finish you off." He lifted a large flag that was concealed at his feet. "But do be good little peasants and die quickly." At this he turned and strode off into the surrounding foliage.

"What do you think he meant by friends." Fai asked

Before the captain could answer a thundering cannon shot answered his question. From behind some of the larger islands off the coast sailed a twin masted ship.

"Damn! Pirates" The captain swore "To your posts men!"

Sailors began scurrying about, some mounting rifles over the railing, others hefting oars and anything else they could find. The villagers screamed and hid below decks as the sailing ship closed on their position.

"She's not firing anymore" Roy told Fai, who found himself equipped with a fish cudgel, "That means they'll be wantin ta board us."

As the water between the ships narrowed, Fai watched several sailors panicked and leap overboard. The pirates laughed and jeered at this, throwing insults at the _crackshell_'s crew. Grappling hooks flew from the boarding vessel and dug into the handrails of the _crackshell._ Though the sailors fought savagely, even if the ones who had jumped off had stayed, they still would have been overrun. As the last of the defenders threw down their weapons, the enemy pirate came aboard. He was a short man that wore a great-feathered hat, and his long black hair fell well past his shoulders. His two bodyguards that joined him were hardened sea-rats, well fit and well armed. As Fai stood side-by-side with Captain Roy, the three pirates pulled pistols and leveled at both of them.

"We've been paid fairly well for your death Captain" The leader of the pirates stated flipping the enormous feather out of his eyes. "You should have stayed in port today"

At this, the boarding parties broke into a raucous laughter, and some of them jeered the now terrified villagers.

Captain Roy simply glared at their leader "You know what?" he asked, "I despise simple brigands, and specially ones who wear hats such as that."

The opposing captain howled with anger, pointed his pistol at the captain, and fired. The pistol shot reverberated between the two ships as Captain Roy clutched his stomach and fell to his knees.

"Well, well, well." The pirate captain sneered "Not much to say now, huh?"

Still kneeling on the deck, Captain Roy managed to look up with a weak smile "I still hate that hat,"

The enemy captain's outrage turned into awe as Captain Roy took his hand away from his stomach. The bullet landed on the deck with a ping, and a loud cracking noise filled the air. Captain Roy fell forward onto all fours and let loose a flood of laughter. The pirates, panicking, started firing wildly at the captain. Fai fell back against the door to the Captain's quarters and stared in shock. Even though most of the bullets hit home they simply ricocheted off or clattered harmlessly to the deck. Captain Roy's laughter started to gurgle as his mouth filled with bubbles. The cracking noise heard in the air made itself apparent as the Captain's shirt ripped off to display a hardened shell forming on his back. As the shell grew, an extra leg grew out of each side of his body. The laughter was completely replaced by the bubbles as the transformation neared its end. Reaching out with his only still human hand, Captain Roy grabbed the enemy captain's head. Struggling all he could, the pirate could not break the vice-like grip of the Captain. The pirate's struggles grew more and more frantic as the arm holding him began to fuse and harden. Finally, with a loud crunch, Captain Roy's arm-turned-pincer slammed home in the enemy pirates head. At the sight of their now headless captain, the other pirates lost all desire to continue. Breaking for their boats however, they were met with a terrifying sight. The sailors who had "Fled" earlier had simply swum under the enemies' boat and were now behind the pirate crew. To make things worse, each one was in the form of a fearsome beast. In the stern, a mighty polar bear backhanded a pirate over the railing, in the bow; a turtle snapped another in half. In the center of the ship, an octopus held its own against four pirates armed with cutlasses. At the sight of this, the remainder of the boarding party ran for the nearest railing and dove overboard. Captain Roy still in his beast form, scuttled towards the railing, and with a mighty crash drove his clawed fist through the enemies' deck. The might of the king crab did not diminish as the claw continued until it broke through the bottom of the ship. The _crackshell's_ sailors withdrew and the enemy ship began to tilt and plunge into the water. Pirates screamed of monsters, dove overboard, and swam for the nearest land. As the last of the ship drifted below the surface, Captain Roy and the sailors began their change back into human form.

"Wow that was amazing!" Fai exclaimed to the human-again Captain Roy.

"Oh that eh," The Captain stated trying on his new hat, "Well why else do you think your dad put you 'ere, ta train ya of course."

With that Captain Roy flicked the enormous feather out of his eyes and marched to the helm.

"You had best get some sleep, Fai, you begin training tomorrow."

"_Well theres chapter 2, sorry for the wait but my stupid disk decided it couldn't find my story. Anyways thanks to Anasazi and Macky_ _for the reviews, hope you enjoy."_


	3. Training

_"After almost a year of not writing on this I have decided to post a new chapter, enjoy and please don't flame me. Also I have found out that I can't keep consistent with the captain's accent so that will be stopped."_

**Chapter 3: Training**

"Your not listening boy" the gruff voice of the captain rumbled through Fai's meditations. "You've got to listen with all your heart."

"But I'm not hearing anything, besides those stupid gulls" Fai complained back.

"Listen kid, you've got to shut out all the outside noises and just concentrate on the inner ones"

"Inner noises?"

Captain Roy heaved a great sigh, "Inside noises are your chaotic thoughts and worries, you must push all that aside to hear the voice, do you understand?"

Fai nodded, and once again, he closed his eyes. The sun had been beating down on them for at least an hour as the Captain tutored him in the basic ways of the change. The "voice" he kept lecturing Fai about was supposedly the second creature that lived inside all zoatropes and that by listening to this voice you could transform into the beast within. Fai looked deep within himself and struggled to push the worry of his father aside. Images of the demon Belvarius assaulted him but using all his strength, he battered the thoughts away. Searching deeper and deeper, Fai struggled to ward off the thoughts of hunger, thirst, and the blaring heat. When suddenly his mind touched upon something he had never felt before. The heat from the blistering panels of the ship paled in comparison to the inferno inside his mind. He tried to pull back but it was too late, once he encountered that wall, a great burning spread throughout his body. In a flash, Fai was writhing in the invisible flames of his mental assault. A scream escaped his lips as the pain increased. Then suddenly the flames transformed into feeling and a great power arose within him. He heard the voice then, and the voice was to powerful to be kept pent up any longer. The scream of pain transformed into a howl of anger as Fai managed to climb to all fours. Something on the edge of his consciousness demanded his attention; Fai looked up and noticed the Captain was screaming at him. Realizing he had to fight, he grappled wills with the great voice. The spirit within him realized that it was about to be placed back and fought to maintain control. The overwhelming power changed back to flames and Fai dropped on the deck and let loose an ear-splitting shriek. Using the pain to fuel him, Fai forced the thing back behind that wall in his mind and sealed it shut. With a final groan, he collapsed onto the deck. Darkness surrounded him as he sunk into oblivion.

An eternity later his vision cleared and he found himself lying in a bunk below decks one of the crewmen saw him stir and sent for the captain. Fai could not sit up, but he glanced about and saw a crewman standing guard at the door. The guard looked very apprehensive, and Fai creased his face in consternation.

"Why should he be nervous now?" Fai thought to himself, "More pirates?"

Before he could voice that opinion, Captain Danials strode into his room.

"You gave us quite a scare up there Fai," he said pulling on his beard "I didn't expect you to make it that far today"

"Oowww…my head…what happened?"

"Well you had an encounter with what's inside you" The captain stalked to a porthole and looked out "I suppose I should've told you before but… a zoatrope has… let's just say an "inner beast" that resides inside your mind"

The captain noticed that he wasn't making himself fully clear and so he walked up next to the bed, sat down, and continued.

"The beings within us give us our powers, for your father and grandfather it was a green dragon, for me a great king crab, for you…" at this point he paused " well that's yet to be seen. Although the beast is just as much a part of you as say…an arm or a leg, the beast does have its own feelings and wants. As is the way with most first-timers, you come in contact with the most powerful feeling of your beast."

Fai widened his eyes with the knowledge and thought back on the fight with the pirates. "So what feeling did you come in contact with Captain?" He asked.

"Protection." Captain Roy looked up at the ceiling and lost himself as he spoke. "My form gives me the power to be nigh invincible, what with the thick armor plating I can even withstand bullets" he gave Fai a grin "And so for a whole week I picked as many fights as possible, just to see how much I could take. I got into bar fights and street duels, and never lost, I felt invincible. I then decided on how I could use this to make money. So I became a pirate." Fai gasped and the Captain looked away. "I never killed anybody but I looted and plundered everything I found."

"Why aren't you a Pirate now?" asked Fai.

"Well that's a story for another day, but let's just say your father brought me back down to earth." He chuckled at this and Fai could not help but join him.

"So tell me Fai, what feeling did you feel the most when you met your voice?"

"I felt immense power running through me, like I could take on the world." It seemed to Fai that merely remembering that feeling gave him strength. He began to work himself into a sitting position.

"Whoa there Fai," The captain put a restraining hand on him "It'll take at least a day for you to recover and at least two for you to be your old self."

"Its gonna take two days for me to be as strong as I was?"

"No, it should only take you about a day to recover full strength."

"Then why did you say…?"

The captain interrupted him and pointed at his body. Fai was up enough that he could see his arms and legs. Where once had been smooth skin, a rock hard layer of clear scales had formed, and where once was fingernails black talons had begun to form. Fai wondered what changes had happened to his face.

"It'll take maybe two days for that to wear off enough so that the crew isn't afraid of you"

"Wait, why would zoatropes be afraid of me?" Fai said looking at his "claws"

"Well kid, most zoatropes first-times aren't as loud or as visible as yours. Also, most "negative" effects go away within a few minutes. Yours however have lasted for ten hours now."

"Ten hours how long have I been out?" Fai asked.

"Just long enough for us to reach where were going to dock at."

_"Thanks for reading and please, please, please respond. Hopefully the next one will be faster."_


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